The Package Deal
by Patronusdoe
Summary: A series of 4 drabbles. When James Potter married Lily Evans, he considered himself the luckiest man alive. When Lily Evans married James Potter she knew she wasn't just into the Potter Family, but in a way, she was also marrying into the Marauders. While most women would have run in the opposite direction, Lily Evans considered herself to be the luckiest woman alive.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I'm not Jo, the world of Harry Potter belongs to J.K Rowling.

Chapter 1. Apparently, Peter has a china doll collection.

When she was a child, she'd often dreamt of having an autumn wedding. May be it was the slight seasonal chill in the air, or the brownish-yellow leaves that would decorate the earth, she didn't know why for sure, but contrary to what most people believed (that summer was her favourite time of the year), Lily Evans loved autumn.

A sharp poke to her head broke Lily out of her reverie; looking into the mirror she fixed the offending person standing behind her with a furious stare.

"What is the rush? Slow down, you're hurting me," Lily muttered, mentally counting the hours to her wedding.

"I'm the Best Man, you remember, don't you?" Sirius answered, his brow furrowed in concentration, his hands moving swiftly, pinning tendrils of Lily's deep auburn hair into what was starting to look like a sophisticated, yet whimsical updo. "I'm going to have to rush to find Prongs soon. Before he runs away out of sheer fright and disbelief, or Wormtail gets him high on an overload of Cheering Charms and Calming droughts."

Lily smiled and tried to shake her head but Sirius stopped her by gripping her head firmly. "Don't ruin my work," he chided, "I'm almost done."

Sirius locked one last tendril in place with a bejewelled hairpin and tapped his want on Lily's head to keep the style in place.

"There, I'm done. I'm off to find Prongs. Mumma and Papa Potter should be here soon"

Lily kissed him on the cheek and smiled, "Thank You. Send Alice or Marlene here if you see them, would you?"

Sirius nodded and walking to the door, turning around and tapping his nose on his way out.

Lily couldn't help but laugh. If someone had told her a week ago even, that Sirius Black, the consummate rebel and compulsive flirt, had a knack with hairstyles she would have thought it to be one of those outrageous rumours the Marauders frequently started about each other, (Like the one about James being a trained Ballet dancer, or about Peter's China Doll collection) just to laugh about it once the embellished versions of the original reached their ears.

Lily had been truly surprised when one afternoon, Sirius, on stumbling upon her looking through Muggle bridal magazines to find a suitable hairstyle for her wedding, had offered to do her hair for the occasion. There was a condition of course, the boys, or anyone else, could never, ever know.

Lily had been skeptical, but after extracting a hundred promises (like he wouldn't, accidentally even, use a balding jinx on her) from Sirius and knowing his own almost borderline obscene obsession with him own hair, agreed.

As she walked towards the closet to get her Muggle wedding dress out, she realised that this was now a secret between Sirius and her, something she shared with him and him alone, and it inexplicably made her feel a touch closer to him.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I'm not Jo, the world of Harry Potter belongs to J.K Rowling.

Chapter 2. James wanted charmed Snidgets at his wedding.

Lily Evans looked out of the window of the room she was in. Headmaster Dumbledore, keeping in mind the sheer number of high profile witches and wizards expected at the wedding, had graciously offered the Hogwarts grounds and Gryffindor dormitories for the ceremony; something both Lily and James were thankful for.

Lily could see the beautiful canopy raised on the banks of the Black lake from her room. In her minds eye she could picture the ivory coloured, round canopy, decorated with fairy lights which would come alive against the autumnal sunset and conjured snidgets (James' only input for the décor), charmed to hover around the lights.

A knock on the door interrupted her musings and Lily smiled as Remus Lupin poked his head into the room.

"I thought you were keeping the boys in place?" Lily asked, welcoming him into the room.

"They're with Mr. and Mrs. Potter, they'll behave. Besides, when I was walking out, I heard Mrs. Potter telling Prongs and Padfoot that they aren't too old to be grounded!" Remus answered, his face an odd mixture of joy and anxiety.

Lily let out a small laugh, her eyes still looking at the canopy.

"It was thoughtful of Professor Dumbledore to offer the castle to you both," Remus commented, looking at the emotions playing on Lily's face.

"It was the best option. Given the current circumstances, it is safer here." Lily responded. "Though I wish my family was here. After Mum and Dad… Petunia wouldn't even speak to me, much less come for my wedding."

Remus cleared his throat nervously. "I actually came here to ask something of you. If you don't mind that is…"

Lily looked at him in confusion. She wondered if this had anything to do with the anxiety showing on his face. Moving towards him, she held his arm in a comforting gesture. "Remus?..." the question and confusion clearly evident in her voice; laced with an underlying tone of worry.

"It is just something I was wondering if you would be alright with. Would you… um… allow me to walk you down the aisle?"

Lily looked at Remus, tears in her eyes. "Oh, Remus! I would like nothing better"

To Lily, it seemed fitting that Remus step into her father's shoes for the ceremony. Remus… sweet, caring, thoughtful, Remus - who was the unspoken backbone of the Marauders. James, she knew, would always be the leader, Sirius the troublemaker and Peter the follower. But without Remus, she knew, her other boys would be lost. And without her boys, she would be lost.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I'm not Jo, the world of Harry Potter belongs to J.K Rowling.

Chapter 3. Sirius tries to make one too many puns.

"…. And so Ladies and Gentlemen, Witches and Wizards, Creatures, Ghosts, Peeves, and anyone I may have missed, please join me, and raise a toast to Mr. and Mrs. James Potter! May your life ahead be filled with love, laughter and lots of children for me to spoil!"

Lily blushed as the rest of the guests raised their goblets at the end of Sirius' speech.

"Trust me, this was a heavily censored version of the original speech. Moony and I had to listen to fifty odd versions before we reckoned this one was safe for a public speech", Peter spoke to Lily over from the other side of the table.

"Do I even want to know what was in the original speech?" Lily asked. Peter looked around and then got up from his seat and took the empty chair next to Lily (Lily idly wondered where Alice was), "No. Not unless you wish to know about the varied puns he made about his name, James' animagus form and your name or even the graphic descriptions of the one time he walked in on you guys, when you know..." Peter spoke, his voice low, as he glanced around to make sure he wasn't being overheard.

Lily laughed. She could just imagine how the original speech would have gone, 'Deerly beloved, we gather here today to celebrate the stag-gering success of James' efforts at wooing Lily…' indeed, Peter was right, she didn't want to know!

"How did Remus and you get him to change the speech? God knows, Sirius can be stubborn" Lily asked, wondering what the two Marauders would have had to do.

"Um… I actually managed to convince him" Peter answered, his face alight with pride at being able to sway Sirius from his original speech.

"How?"

"Can't say much, but I may have some blackmail on him, reckoned he didn't want the boys, Prongs especially, to take the mickey out of him for the rest of his life"

Lily nodded. As tempting as it was to know what could be the source of Sirius' silence, she knew the boys had their secrets and she knew for the sake of the peace of her mind, she didn't need to know what embarrassing and usually potentially illegal things they got to.

"Thank you, Peter. As entertaining, as I'm sure Sirius' speech must have been, I don't need embarrassing stories about James or my lives spoken aloud in public. Merlin knows, flushed skin clashes terribly with my hair!"

Peter just grinned at her and got up to leave. He suddenly stopped and took out a small box from his coat pocket and handed it to Lily. Wordlessly Lily opened the box, her eyes widened in recognition and she gave Peter a watery smile.

"Wherever did you get this?" she asked

"James knew how much you would've liked for your sister to be here at your wedding, so he sent me to give the invitation card personally instead of owling it. She of course couldn't make it, but she gave this for you. I was supposed to give this to you before the ceremony, something about a muggle tradition, 'old, new, blue'… I'm not sure. But between welcoming the guests and taking care of Prongs, I forgot" Peter answered with a sheepish smile.

Lily simply got up from her chair and hugged him tightly, "Thank you! Thank you! You don't know how much this means to me."

Peter blushed and walked back to his seat.

Lily opened the box once more and smiled. Her eyes tearing up as she looked at the white gold and sapphire bracelet nestled within it. It was her mothers, and her grandmothers before that. Lily remembered how much she had loved it as a kid. Petunia on the hand thought it was awfully plain. Petunia hadn't allowed her to be present at the reading of her parents' wills and being underage in the Muggle world, Lily couldn't fight her. Truthfully, she had no interest in the house or the money, but she'd always wondered about this bracelet.

She knew Petunia wouldn't have been half as kind as Peter said she was, but she appreciated him not mentioning anything in detail. Lily looked towards where Peter was sitting; laughing at something Remus seemed to have said. She wiped her eyes and thought to herself that she may not have her parents or her sister at her wedding. But she wasn't alone. Her family, one that she'd found, not been born into, was still here and for Lily Potter (LILY POTTER! Her mind screamed), that, was far more than she could have asked for.

* * *

A/N:

1\. I understand that there isn't much love out there for Peter Pettigrew, and for obvious reasons, but I am of the strong belief that he wasn't always a snivelling coward. He was friends with the Marauders for years before the events of Halloween 1981, and there has to be some affection and at least a half decent bone in his body. So until Rowling herself provides evidence to the contrary, this is my impression of Pettigrew.

2\. The idea about Sirius' pun riddled best man speech is borrowed from a Tumbler post


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I'm not Jo, the world of Harry Potter belongs to J.K Rowling.

Chapter 4. Remus insisted that they all take dance lessons.

"How are you doing on this fine autumn evening, Evans?" James Potter asked his wife as he danced with her.

Lily looked at him in mock exasperation as he twirled her around. "Splendid. And for your information, it's Potter now"

James gave her a look of exaggerated false surprise and Lily couldn't help but laugh.

"So," Lily began, as she looked into her husband's eyes, "when did you learn to dance? I distinctly remember you flailing about pathetically, in what can only be described as a mockery of dance at Frank and Alice's wedding."

"Moony. He made us all take dancing lessons." James answered sheepishly.

"Well, that is another thing I have to thank him for then." Lily said, thinking about Remus' walking her down the aisle.

"Don't," James said and then continued; looking at the confused frown on Lily's face, "you're one of us now, have been for a while actually. We don't expect or particularly appreciate gratitude from each other. We do what we must, and that is all. No pantomimes required."

"But…" Lily began, but James silenced her with a soft kiss. "Just enjoy all the attention, love." James said and then pulled her close.

As she rested her head against her husband's chest, Lily reflected upon the day and the unexpected acts of kindness she had witnessed from the Marauders. While she knew that they weren't the same immature pranksters she knew in school, their thoughtful actions today made her realise how she had underestimated the bond between her boys, sure, she knew they were a family in nearly every sense of the word, but only now did she grasp that their sense of proprietary towards each other, and now her, was exactly what they were fighting to save. It was easy, she realised; to forget the horrors of what is waiting for them on the other side of these castle's grounds, or how the world right now, was not a very safe place especially for people like her. Forgetting was easy, she mused, when she was in the safety of her husband's arms, surrounded by some of the most light-hearted, compassionate and capable people she knew. But at that point, Lily Potter promised herself that she would fight to keep her small, but oddly perfect family together. And she would do everything in her power to put an end to the war (even if it was the last thing she did), because she now had something worth fighting for.

Her maudlin contemplations were interrupted as Sirius cleared his throat behind her.

"Do you mind?" he asked, gesturing towards James, "I'd like a dance with the groom."

Lily laughed, and nodded at him as she heard the last few dying notes of the song and looked at James, "find me later?"

"Certainly" James answered and kissed her softly, "I love you; you know that right?"

Lily beamed at him.

"As do I. Always."

\- FIN-


End file.
